Juiciness and tenderness are quality attributes of muscle foods that are highly discriminated by consumers in judging a quality muscle food product. These attributes are very highly dependent on the amount of water in the muscle at the time the food is consumed. All processing steps in the conversion of a live animal muscle into an edible product create a stress factor which results in the loss of moisture from the muscle in the form of “drip” in frozen and thawed products, “purge” in raw meats stored under refrigeration, and in cooking loss when the raw muscle is heated prior to serving. In the case of “ready to eat” meats, moisture loss is particularly egregious since there will be no further chance of introducing additional moisture such as simmering in a sauce or addition of gravy prior to serving.
Improved methods for minimizing moisture loss in muscle food products are needed.